LYMPHOMAS

In findings reported during the 2018 ASH Annual Meeting, brentuximab vedotin with conventional chemotherapy significantly improved progression-free survival compared with standard therapy for nonpediatric patients with stage III/IV Hodgkin lymphoma.

According to findings from the phase III ECHELON-2 trial presented at the 2018 ASH Annual Meeting, the use of brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris) in combination with chemotherapy demonstrated a clinically meaningful improvement in progression-free survival and overall survival in patients with CD30-expressing peripheral T-cell lymphoma. These data were also published online in&nbsp;<em>Lancet Oncology</em>.

A look back at all the FDA news that happened in the month of November 2018, including several new approvals, priority reviews, a fast track designation, and an accelerated approval, across a variety of cancer types.

Two-year findings from the ZUMA-1 trial showed an overall survival rate of more than 50% from treatment with&nbsp;axicabtagene ciloleucel, a CD19-targeted CAR T-cell therapy&nbsp;in patients with&nbsp;refractory large B cell lymphoma; the median survival had not yet been reached. These data, representing a clear plateau in the survival curve, were presented at the 2018 ASH Annual Meeting.

Lenalidomide in addition to rituximab, called the R² regimen, led to a significant increase in progression-free survival compared with rituximab alone in patients with&nbsp;relapsed/refractory indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma in results from the phase III AUGMENT trial.

Overall survival was more than doubled when&nbsp;the CD79b-targeted antibody&ndash;drug conjugate polatuzumab vedotin was added to treatment with&nbsp;bendamustine and rituximab for patients with&nbsp;relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

Mosunetuzumab, a&nbsp;CD3 and CD20 bispecific antibody, induced complete remission rates over 30% in patients with&nbsp;relapsed/refractory follicular lymphoma and&nbsp;relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma or transformed follicular lymphoma, and demonstrated a tolerable safety profile, showing promise for these patients with&nbsp;B-cell indolent and aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphomas.&nbsp;

According to findings from the FLYER trial presented at the 2018 ASH Annual Meeting, treatment&nbsp;with 2 fewer frontline cycles of R-CHOP greatly reduced toxicity in younger patients with low-risk diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. The progression-free survival rates were also similar between the 2 arms.&nbsp;

Victor Chow, MD, senior hematology-oncology fellow, University of Washington, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, discusses a retrospective study assessing outcomes of patients with large B-cell lymphomas and progressive disease following CD19-Specific CAR T-cell therapy during the 2018 ASH Annual Meeting.

After a median of 19 months of follow-up, durable objective response rates were sustained with tisagenlecleucel in patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. These updated findings from the phase II JULIET study were presented at the 2018 ASH Annual Meeting.&nbsp;

Two variants of the chemotherapy regimen R-CHOP resulted in comparable overall survival and progression-free survival in patients with previously untreated stage III or IV indolent B-cell lymphoma, including grades 1 to 3 follicular lymphoma, according to a long-term follow-up analysis from a combined phase II/III randomized trial.

The immunomodulating agent lenalidomide induced a complete response in 74% of patients with high tumor burden follicular lymphoma when used in combination with rituximab and a 4-drug chemotherapy regimen, according to a recent study.

Waldenstrom Macroglobulinemia in a Newly Diagnosed Patient